Summary

Ellen Anne Chong recounts her great-grandmother's courageous act of confronting armed men in her woods at the age of sixty and reflects on her own perspective of age as she works on her family's historic property.

Abstract

The narrative describes an excerpt from Nina Stuntz Sheppa's farm journal where she details her pursuit of armed men who were illegally hunting on her property in Soquel, California, in 1928. Despite being sixty years old, she fearlessly chased the intruders through the woods, demonstrating her determination and vigor. Decades later, her great-granddaughter, Ellen Anne Chong, finds inspiration in this account while working on the same property. At sixty-four, Ellen climbs the roof of a building that her great-grandmother likely used, contemplating the relativity of age and the legacy of Grandma Mo's spirit. Ellen acknowledges that while she won't follow in her great-grandmother's footsteps by chasing after shooters, she embraces the same sense of purpose and confidence in her own actions.

Opinions

The author, Ellen Anne Chong, expresses admiration for her great-grandmother's bravery and assertiveness in confronting trespassers at an age when she might have been expected to be less active.
Ellen reflects on society's perceptions of age, challenging the idea that certain activities are inappropriate for older individuals, as evidenced by her own roof-climbing endeavor at sixty-four.
There is a sense of connection and continuity between Ellen and her great-grandmother, as she feels Grandma Mo's presence and approval while working on the family property.
The author suggests a shift in perspective on aging, advocating for an "Opti-age" approach that focuses on living with purpose and confidence, regardless of one's age.
Ellen implies that while she respects her great-grandmother's actions, she also recognizes the importance of making decisions appropriate for her own time and circumstances, such as not chasing after shooters herself.

RELATIVELY AGELESS

Shots in Our Woods

And I didn’t fall off the roof

Grandma Mo, Flink the FIne and Smart Fox Terrier, and a cat in front of the Sheppa Shed, the building mentioned in this story. Soquel CA, circa the 1930s | Photographer credit most likely Louise Sheppa Lovett | From author’s archive | © Ellen Anne Chong

Grandma Mo heard gunshots, quickly put on her boots, took off in pursuit, and confronted armed men in her woods. Wow.

The first time I read this excerpt from my great-grandmother’s journal, I was astounded by the notion that anyone would pull on boots and run toward the sound of nearby gunfire.

Soquel California, December 1st, 1928. Nina Stuntz Sheppa, farm journal excerpt:

Heard shots in our woods. Put on rubber boots and started out. Found two boys named Rosalena. They said “We have permish”, and began to call to “Tony”. Said two men were doing the shooting. I chased clear thru our woods but didn’t find them. After crossing the creek, three times, I found them all five together. Gave them a big talking to about this closed District. They had one quail. They promised not to trespass again.

— The University Library Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Santa Cruz.*

This, and holy crap, she was sixty years old at the time

The day I read this, I thought sixty was a bit old to be carrying on in this manner. I was impressed because she was…older…and running around the woods chasing after men who had guns.

Silly me. What did her age have to do with it?

When viewed with perspective, age is relative. Where one is on the timeline of their life dictates how one feels about aging.

These days, as I scramble about the same woods where my Great-GrandMa Mo took off in pursuit of armed men, my gray hair tucked under my hat, I often forget that I am now older than she was the day she heard those shots.

Her account of the hunters in the woods came to mind recently as I straddled the ridgeline of a roof. The roof of the very building where she probably stored her rubber boots.

As I scooted about said newly re-shingled roof, reaching over the edge of the eaves to reach the fascia boards with a paintbrush, it dawned on me that GrandMo was sixty when she took chase into the woods after those shooters.

And there I was at sixty-four, climbing on the very roof her husband Oswald built a hundred years ago. I looked out towards those same woods and thought about GrandMo.

A woman I never met, but do miss.

I was ‘older’ and clambering about on a roof. Was this silly of me? On a roof at this age? I don’t think so, as I did not fall, and it felt great to be up there working with confidence, accomplishing something with purpose.

I like to think that GrandMo was up there with me, smiling at the fact that my perspective had changed. Age is indeed a relative thing.

If and when I ever hear shots in our woods, you can bet that I will not be putting on my rubber boots and taking chase after the shooters.

I think GrandMo would agree I made the right decision.

*Guide to the Louise Lovett Papers Collection number: MS 187, Contains diaries and an account book from La Labranza, the Sheppa family farm in Soquel Collection open for research. Publication Rights: Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs

Thanks for reading! Here’s more from Ellen Anne Chong:

I’m Anti-Aging! Oops, I’m Dead. Arwrgh.

Opti-age, it’s the better way to go

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Do You Want to Be Like Your Sister Venus?

I can arrange that

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